Fibre cuts cost Ghana over US$20m in repairs – Sam George

Minister for Communications, Digital Technology and Innovations, Sam Nartey George, has disclosed that telecommunications operators have spent more than US$20 million repairing fibre cuts recorded in Ghana this year, diverting funds that could have been used to expand network infrastructure.

According to him, the country has so far recorded 8,578 fibre cuts within the year, creating a significant financial burden for network operators and undermining efforts to improve connectivity across the country.

“…And the cost of that alone is over US$20 million in repairing fibre cuts. That’s money that without the fibre cut we could have used to build new sites. It’s not because there is no service, but because the fibre has been cut,” Sam George explained.

He identified Ghana’s road construction projects under the Big Push programme as accounting for 49% of fibre cuts, while illegal mining activities contribute about 25%, making them the two major sources of damage to telecommunications infrastructure across the country.

The minister added that the “aggressive” expansion of road projects across the country has increased the risk of underground telecommunications infrastructure being damaged during construction.